Which neck turning systems does everyone prefer ?

I use RCBS, it works but would probably buy something else next time. But I'm not unhappy with RCBS. I run it in a drill press. Use a lee shell holder
 
I've not done much neck turning, but this is what I've used. I've probably had it 40+ years .....bought used then. I thought that it did a good job.....but I have nothing to compare the results to! I've used it for trimming, hollow-pointing cast bullets, and of course......neck turning. memtb



Not being able to find any quality brass for a 25-06 has led me to want to resize Lake City 30-06 brass that I have on hand.
I was told I would definitely have to turn the necks. I have never done this in 40 years of reloading. Am wanting to hear any opinions about who's neck turning systems I should be looking to purchase.
Thanks

I have a Forster Original trimmer and bought the kit to turn necks, it works just fine. Also I removed the handle and use my DeWalt portable drill in its place, makes the process very easy and I get good results when turning the necks, or....simply trimming. I'd also like to suggest the Sinclair mandrel system to do the neck sizing before you turn the necks to prevent getting the donut after sizing the brass down from 30-06 to 25-06, or to not have to ream the necks before turning the brass. I believe there is a debate as to whether reaming is better than using a mandrel die, I personally prefer the mandrel die over reaming the necks.
 
Sinclair with power drill adapter. I neck turn most new cases so they're consistent. Have improved some groups as much as 3/4".
 
Mine. The 21st Century mounted on the lathe chuck. Shell holder mounted on the tail stock drill chuck. Instead of driving the quill, I am driving the whole tail stock with a drive handwheel.

I had all my turning and expanding mandrels melonited. When turning, i slow down more than shown on video to minimize heat build up on the mandrel, the headstock speed has to be optimized..... I turn with no oil. The melonited mandrels are slick and dang near carbide hard. Cheap file won't even bite on to them.

To the safety conscious folks, the belt drive is adjusted fairly loose, not worried about spinning my arm if the chuck grabs my long sleeves. I don't normally wear long sleeves when working in the shop, especially on the gear head drive lathes. I did this video as a demo for a friend who asked about it.

Watch "21st Century Neck Turner" on YouTube
 

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Not the latest and maybe not the best by some standards, but I've had very good results with a Forster neck turner for about forty years. I use it on a fairly regular basis.
 
Not being able to find any quality brass for a 25-06 has led me to want to resize Lake City 30-06 brass that I have on hand.
I was told I would definitely have to turn the necks. I have never done this in 40 years of reloading. Am wanting to hear any opinions about who's neck turning systems I should be looking to purchase.
Thanks
K M works great
 
I do a Forster Original lathe with neck turner attachment and it works great. Turning thickness is controlled by a set screw so it it took a bit of time to set it exactly at 0.014" as I prefer, but I don't do anything else with it so it stays perfect all the time. I keep a second Forster Original dedicated to my trimming. It's pretty cost effective when you find good eBay prices
 
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Not being able to find any quality brass for a 25-06 has led me to want to resize Lake City 30-06 brass that I have on hand.
I was told I would definitely have to turn the necks. I have never done this in 40 years of reloading. Am wanting to hear any opinions about who's neck turning systems I should be looking to purchase.
Thanks
I use the Horandy Neck turning tool for the following reasons.

1) I can not turn by hand for very long periods of time without my hands becoming numb for holding shell cases.
2) I am anal about leaving turning tool marks on case necks.( I know it's just me)
3) The Horandy neck turning tool is used in conjunction with a cordless power drill resulting in a very uniform amount of brass to be removed.

The Horandy neck turning tool attaches to your hand held drill via the proprietary Horandy shell holder.
A standard shell holder doses not have sufficient clearance to allow the tools locking mechanism to function correctly. All Horandy shell holders will work correctly so you must order one ( Caliber Specific ) at the same time as purchase is made.
On the plus side once it has been correctly set up using the correct cutter to match the desired angle of your brass shell cases and then setting the correct depth just shy of your shell cases tapered angle, you are good to go. ( 2 cutting angle tools are included)
I have found that regardless of the brand of neck turning tool you use, the purchase of a Sinclair Gen 2 Neck Expander Die will make your shell cases easily slide over your neck turning tools mandrel. All you need to do is order the correct again caliber specific Sinclair Expander Mandrel along with the Sinclair die body.
As a + feature it will also repair dented or dropped case mouths.

Finally when you neck turn you will need a cutting fluid to prevent your brass case necks from galling.
Please Note:
Brass is extremely gummy by nature and in order to overcome this I recommend a drop or two of lubricant on your brass case necks before turning as this will defeat this .( I am a tool and die person with over 40 years experience and this is just my personal recommendation as I never cut brass without using any lubricant because it is just too gummy)
However in all fairness with just a skim cut of .0002" - .0005" you may be able to get away without using any lubricant !
I find that Mobil 1 5-20 weight works very well. I just apply it directly to the case neck before turning with an acid brush. (just a drop or two is sufficient)
Just a drop is plenty.

You will find that with a little practice using the Horandy neck turning tool and a power drill you will get very smooth and satisfactory neck turning which will not really leave any turning marks visible to the naked eye, and I think you will be happy with your purchase even if it takes a little more time to correctly set up than the typical hand held method which I found to really bother my hands but will certainly perform.
I guess the choice will be yours to make ,as I only meant to enlighten you with my thoughts.

Good Luck !
 
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PMA makes great tools for this. Tried the original Forster neck turner, but I have more faith in the PMA results. They sell both adjustable tools and non-adjustable for single calibers.
 
I also use Forster neck turning tool but I am lazy and have attached battery drill to spin the mandrel and cutter it's not so bad just make sure you have a good set of mics and it will all work out for the good
 
I have a Forster Original trimmer and bought the kit to turn necks, it works just fine. Also I removed the handle and use my DeWalt portable drill in its place, makes the process very easy and I get good results when turning the necks, or....simply trimming. I'd also like to suggest the Sinclair mandrel system to do the neck sizing before you turn the necks to prevent getting the donut after sizing the brass down from 30-06 to 25-06, or to not have to ream the necks before turning the brass. I believe there is a debate as to whether reaming is better than using a mandrel die, I personally prefer the mandrel die over reaming the necks.
The older Forster works well for me also. Setting the cutter up to take off a minute skim is it's only draw back. Firstly you need the rifle neck chambered under sized so just enough is turned off cases to prevent over working the brass necks. I also have never had consistency in neck thickness using inside neck reaming and prefer the outside cutter mandrel system.
Turning necks for an existing standard chambered rifle is not going to increase case life due to extra expansion. If the turner can be adjusted so it only takes off the slightest amount then that will improve accuracy.
 
If you are going to or starting to cutting your rifle brass necks. I will add a little food for though into neck cutting. How many caliber you are loading for? That were the expenses really comes in. The ideal is cutting the necks the same thickness each time, for neck tension, and centering the case in the chamber. Once that thickness is determine you really don't want change that. They say don't cut your brass necks to less than .013 in thickness. A 21st century neck cutting system is a lot of money to start with, but at least you can get different cutting heads, and expander die body for each caliber. You can purchase a neck cutting setup for each caliber. That way once thickness is set, you never have to change it. I have two different neck cutting set ups. Not really happy with either one, and mainly because of having to adjust the tool for different calibers. I sent Hornady an email asking if they supplied just the cutting head that can be changed out for different calibers. I didn't get anywhere with that. I think they are missing the boat, but maybe that's only me. It goes back to I wish I knew what I know now. I would have saved money in the long run.
 
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